EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings hope rehabilitation, not surgery, will get starting split end Jerome Simpson back on the field sooner than later.

In an interview with 1500 ESPN's "Judd & Phunn" show on Wednesday morning, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier confirmed tests showed Simpson has a back problem but the injury "doesn't sound like a lengthy deal."

Later, in his media conference at the team's Winter Park headquarters, Frazier said Simpson would miss Wednesday's practice but "(a)ll indications are it's a very good chance" he plays on Sunday at Washington.

"We'll know more (based on) how he responds to some of the treatment we give him (Wednesday)," Frazier said. "Hopefully, we'll get him back out at practice (Thursday). But we don't think it's anything long-term at all."

Simpson played a limited role in Sunday's game after waking up with weakness and numbness in one of his legs.

"He's improved. That's the good news," Frazier said. "He's much better than he was on Sunday. He went through the walkthrough (on Wednesday) fine. But this is more cautionary, just to give him another day of rest and recuperation and then we'll get him back out here hopefully (Thursday)."

Frazier declined to go into details about the injury, which is believed to be a disc issue. He reiterated Simpson had reported no such issues before we woke up on Sunday.

"The good news is there's no surgery required or anything like that," Frazier said. "He should be fine over time."

The Vikings signed Simpson to a one-year, $2 million contract in April to provide them with a vertical threat in the passing game. Simpson was suspended for the first three games of the season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy and made his regular-season debut in a victory over Detroit on Sept. 30.

Missing time would be costly for Simpson. His contract includes an $800,000 base value, of which he can only make $658,823.53 because he was suspended the first three games. He also has a $950,000 roster bonus that is worth $59,375 for every game in which he is on the 46-man game day roster.